In a nutshell, product placement is the promotion of branded goods and services within the context of a show or movie, rather than as an explicit advertisement.

When you see a product or service appear in a TV show, or in a motion picture, the company behind it has usually (but not always) paid for their brand to appear on screen or on the radio.

Also known as embedded marketing or advertising, it has been around for decades, but marketers have become much more sophisticated in the way they use it. Once a very obvious form of sponsorship, product placement is sometimes flying under the radar. You barely notice that every single car used in the movie or show was from only one auto-maker. Or, that everyone drinks the same brand of soda.